by Sandra Love
“Kaleigh, I will be okay. I am going to be with Lizbeth now.” I laid my head down on Daniel’s chest and cried. When Gabe came to be with me, I pushed him away and I did the same with Cameron and Bridget. Why Daniel? I thought. Why take him away from us? He had the biggest heart I knew. I was listening to his breathing get shallow. He coughed one last time and that was it. He was gone. I could hear Bridget crying and Gabe was kicking the statue and saying some very harsh words. I looked up and saw Daniel’s eyes were open, so I reached up and closed them. I stood and noticed I was covered in blood. I felt sick to my stomach and I ran to throw up. Then I felt arms wrap around me.
“Kaleigh, this is not your fault. Please don’t think that.”
“Why is this happening, Gabe? We have to bury another good guy. I wish this would all end.”
“It will. Once we bury the dead, we will storm the castle and take that bitch down.”
“Thank you.” I turned and kissed him on the cheek. “I’m glad I found you.” We walked back to Daniel. I watched as fifteen graves were dug out. We lost fifteen good creatures today. I watched as the bodies were placed into the ground and got covered with dirt. The living stood back and sung the song of death. Bridget found roses a little inside the forest; Arabella and she went to pick some. They placed a rose on all the graves. Roses in Ithaca were a sign of good luck in the afterlife. After all the roses were placed, Arabella and another white witch said a chant and the roses sank down into the ground. It was very heart wrenching to watch.
I turned to see Kale was waking up. When he saw how angry I was, he took off running. I tried to blast him, but Gabe stopped me. He didn’t want me to end up like him. I understood it, but I hated not having my revenge.
After we got the dead taken care of, we all sat around discussing our plan. Gabe told the ones that were alive that if they wanted to leave, they could. But no one wanted to leave. They said they were here to fight for the country and for Cordelia. Arabella told the group of us that she was pregnant with Dean’s son. I was very happy for them, but I worried for her safety even more. Still, it was nice to have something happy to focus on after such a deadly fight.
Now, it was time for us to get going and fight some more. I really hoped we didn’t lose any more lives tonight.
Chapter Twelve
Dean
I was being pulled and pushed around by Amelia’s minions, who were making sure to smash me into every wall. My nose was bleeding and I had scraps on my face from the concrete. True was among the minions and she was taking Zane’s death out on me. I wasn’t going to submit to her by screaming or crying out. I could hear Amelia behind me, talking to Abem. I couldn’t wait to get my hands on that son of a bitch.
“Take him into the room with Cordelia. I need to run and talk to The Old Ones. Let him spend his last hour with his precious daughter. However, chain him up and do it tight. I don’t want his wings to come to life so he can escape.”
“Yes, Mistress,” her pets said to her, making me chuckle, which prompted them to punch me in the nose.
I finally made it to the room, and when they opened the door, my heart fell. My baby girl was tied down on the table. She was covered in cuts, bruises, and blood. She looked so pale and her long beautiful hair had streaks of blood in it. I was watching her while I was being chained to the wall. Her breathing was shallow and that scared me. She looked almost too thin, like she hadn’t eaten in days. The ropes around her hands and feet looked to be so damn tight. I want to rip Amelia to shreds. If she was going for the award of worst mother ever—she won.
“Okay, angel boy, one more taste before I leave.” True bit down so hard I could feel my pulse starting to slow. “Maybe if you live, you can me my new play toy.”
“Not in this lifetime.” She spit in my face and left with those creatures right on her tail. Damn it, what use am I? My daughter is literally 10 feet away and I can’t do anything, I thought as I struggled against the chains.
“Cordelia, daddy is here. Wake up, Sweetheart.”
She moaned and fluttered her eyes open. She turned her head slightly, but winced in pain. “Dad, are you here to save me? Is the blood moon over with?”
“No, Honey, Amelia captured me. I am so sorry I let you down. I couldn’t save you in time.”
“It’s okay. We can just die together. I will have you with me now. I am going to get more sleep. I am ready to go.”
“Baby girl, you are not making any sense.”
“Good bye, Daddy.”
What was going on? She couldn’t die.
“Cordelia, please wake up. Don’t die on me now.” I watched as her chest rose and fell slowly. She was barely alive.
The doors opened and in walked Amelia. She slammed the door and walked over to me, slapping me hard across my face.
“This is your fault! You want to see what kind of pain I went through when you abandoned me and told me our daughter was dead; then to find out today that you got that whore of a witch pregnant? You have destroyed me! That day after you left, I sat out on our swing holding a dead baby that I thought was ours. How sick is that?” I remembered the day I handed that dead baby over to her. It was a horrible feeling, and I felt like an asshole for doing that, but it was necessary—Cordelia needed to be protected. “Then I figured I’d lost everyone in my life, so why not become dark? Then I decided the best thing to do with my newfound evil was to seek revenge on you. I didn’t have a reason, but I knew, somehow, you were to blame for our baby’s death. Of course, you also broke my heart—no, you did more than that. You smashed it into a million pieces when you left.” She paused and I thought I saw a tear in her eye, but it must have been a trick of light, because when she looked at me again, it was gone. “Just when I needed you most; when I needed you to help heal my broken heart over the loss of our baby—you left me!” Her voice cracked for a moment, but then the hatred came back. “I decided you needed to die. But then a seer came to me and told me our baby was, in fact, alive and well. Of course, I made a deal, threatened The Old Ones. Our daughter never should have happened, and The Old Ones agreed that both you and she needed to be eliminated. At first, it was just out of anger, but when I found out that I am a descendent of Abagail—the most powerful witch of all time—I decided there was more to gain from your death.” She stopped talking and pressed her nose to mine. “I will have all the powers and my revenge.” She brought her hand up and began to choke me. “And I will make your death slow and painful so you can watch me drain our daughter of her blood.”
“Amelia, listen to me. Why not just kill me and let her go?”
She laughed and shook her head. “She is the one the prophet speaks of. If she lives, she will rule us all. You know I can’t have that, now can I?”
As she walked out of the room, I started to think about Arabella and the son she was carrying. I remembered the day she told me, and it still brought a smile to my face.
We were at the beach. The waters of the ocean were crystal clear and beautiful. But not as beautiful as the woman who was swimming in the waves. I watched Arabella laughing and having fun. She had long purple hair, styled into soft ringlets, green eyes, and a heart of gold. I fell in love with her when she was hiding me from everyone. She took care of me, holding me at night when I would cry out for Cordelia. She helped ease the pain in my heart, and I wanted to marry her. But I knew I couldn’t. Not while Amelia was out there. “Deep in thought I see. Don’t think like that. We will get married one day. Our main concern right now is making sure Amelia doesn’t get to Cordelia.”
“Thank you, my dear, but you really need to stay out of my head.”
We both laughed and then her face became serious. “Dean, I must tell you something and I hope it doesn’t change our relationship.”
“You can tell me anything, Arabella.”
“I am with child, and it’s a boy.”
I jumped up, grabbed her, and gave her the biggest hug. “We’re having a son?”
“Yes we are
, and soon we will have Cordelia as well.”
I gave her a kiss, feeling at home.
Coming back around to the present day, I started to think about Daniel and Lizbeth, and how they were no longer with us. I hoped I would be alive to see my son being born and hold him in my arms. I wondered if Arabella would allow me to name our son Daniel, after my brother. The door flew open, taking me out of my thoughts and I was surprised to see who had walked in.
“Mr. Cassen, I am so sorry, I figured out that Amelia was lying to me. That she is the real reason my parents died. After being kicked in the head by Kaleigh, I woke up and they were all crying over your brother. My heart went good, and I’m here to save you and Cordelia. I know now that Cameron’s heart is right. He loves your daughter. So please, let me help you.”
I looked at Anna. She looked so beat up and I could tell she was being genuine. The side of her head was bleeding and she looked so pale. “Please Anna, don’t let this be a trap. I really don’t want to kill a young girl today. If we are going to do this, we need to be quick. Amelia’s ritual is about to start.”
“Close your eyes. I hope this doesn’t hurt.” I closed my eyes, she said a chant, and my chains loosened and then they released me.
I ran over to Cordelia, and tried to wake her. But she didn’t move. “Mr. Cassen?”
“Please, call me Dean.”
“Okay, Dean stand back. I need to break this circle around her. Once I do, she will be able to heal herself. Then we can untie her.” I stood back and watched Anna struggle to break the circle. She started to sweat, and she looked to be in pain. I could see the circle disappearing from around Cordelia. Seconds later, Anna fell to the ground and I ran over to Cordelia. I could see that she was healing, so I started to untie her ropes. Once done, she sat up and look confused.
“Daddy, what happened? I swear I was dying.”
I grabbed her and hugged her tight. “Baby girl, you will never guess who saved us.”
Chapter Thirteen
Kaleigh
As we all started to walk to the castle, we saw Anna get up and run toward it I was about to blast her, but Arabella grabbed my hand. I look at her and she shook her head. I was confused on why she stops me from killing that selfish bitch. Maybe Anna was chicken and wanted to run away from us because she knew I would kick her ass.
“She is confused right now,” Arabella explained. I know what she is thinking about and I just pray to the Goddess Freya that she does what her thoughts have said.”
“What do you mean?”
“Time will tell.” Then she winked at me. Sometimes when she says something, she confuses the hell out of me. I saw Gabe up ahead talking to Bridget and Cameron, and I suddenly got Jealous. Why wasn’t he back here walking with me? Men! I swear, they are the most annoying creature there is. Arabella laughed and I knew she was in my thoughts again. Then Gabe stopped walking so I could catch up to him.
“What’s wrong, Kay?”
“Nothing.”
He grabbed my arm to stop me from continuing. “Tell me the truth. What happened in the last day or two has us all on edge. I know you are upset because of Daniel—we all are, but I really wish you wouldn’t shut me out.”
I closed my eyes and exhaled. I knew he was right. “I’m just sad. We lost two great people today, and I almost lost you and my brother. Now I have to worry about two more people. My nerves are shot to hell. And I got jealous.” After I said that, I looked away, embarrassed.
“Wait, what are you jealous about? Me talking to Bridget? Listen, that girl is mentally screwed up right now. When this is all done, we will have to help her get her sanity back. That poor girl has seen as much as you have. She saved your brother by bashing in a wolf’s head, and she staked that vampire who was eating on you like it was lunchtime. You have to understand, we are all in this together and that when this is all over with we will all stick together. This is our family, Kay.”
“I’m scared that I will lose one of you when we enter this castle.”
“Well stop thinking like that. Your head needs to be in the right place, because we all need you to be strong. I can’t have my girl getting all scared, now can I.”
“Gabe, I have feelings for you. I don’t love you just yet because I just met you, but my feelings are really strong; abnormally strong. So strong that they’re impossible to ignore. But I don’t love you.”
“Ouch! Way to bruise my ego,” he exclaimed with a laugh. “I have feelings for you, as well. We will work our way up to love and marriage.”
“Don’t forget the seventeen kids we are going to have.”
He chuckled. “You’re funny. Now, come here and give me a kiss.” I grabbed him into a tight hug and stared into his eyes. Then he crushed his lips into mine. The boy was a great kisser and I wanted to kiss his soft lips forever. He smelled so good and he was shirtless. His bare skin begged for my touch, so I ran my hands over his abs. Yum! “Um, Kaleigh—sorry to bother you while you’re dry humping your boyfriend, but I think it’s time for us to go.”
I pulled away from Gabe to see Cam laughing at me. “God, Cam, can you be any more annoying?” I stomped off, annoyed.
“Hey, wait for us.” Gabe and Cameron ran up beside me. “Don’t get mad; I was only kidding.”
Feeling stupid, I turned to him and sighed. I knew he wasn’t trying to be an ass. “I know, Cam. I’m just on edge right now. I have no idea what we are walking into.”
We made it to the front doors without any creatures attacking us, which I thought was odd. I looked around and all I saw were those thorn bushes that held dead angels. The trees even looked dead. Then I noticed the moon was starting to shine through the clouds. It was blood red, showing why it was called the Blood Moon. Lightning was striking around it, as if it was a big ball of electricity. I heard some of the people with us gasp, in awe of the strange moon. Admittedly, it was pretty, but eerie won out. I looked around to all that were with us, and my heart melted. They must really love Dean to stand up for him.
“Okay all, let’s form a line back here.” They all followed me and formed a line. I had Gabe on my left and Cam on my right. Bridget was next to Cam, and Arabella was next to Gabe. “On the count of three, I want you to blast in the doors. Use all that you have, and once the doors are open, storm in and take anyone down that gets in your way. If someone is hurt, you help. Don’t leave one of us behind. You got me?” They all agreed. “Ready? 1, 2, 3, GO!”
Each of our blasts was a different color, creating a rainbow of magic that blasted the wooden door open. We looked inside to see Amelia’s army ready for us. Some of the creatures even had swords and dagger gripped in their palms.
I took a deep breath and ran for it. I got closer and I blasted one of the creatures, and it flew back into a bookcase. One threw a dagger at me, but I ducked. Looking behind me, I noticed it hit a fairy. Damn it! I ran toward the staircase when I saw Kale standing there. He shot a lightning bolt at me, and I slammed myself up against the wall to avoid it. He must have seen my face because he turned to run away like a coward. I skipped steps as I was chasing him. I finally got hold of him, grabbing his shirt and yanking it. He fell back onto me as we tumbled down some stairs, running into someone. Once I got a better look, I saw it was Gabe.
Kale snarled at him. “I see that you picked through my old trash, Gabe.”
I kicked him in the knee. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Now get your ass off me, and please stop kicking me,” he whined.
We all got off the floor and I felt pain radiate through my body; my back was going to be nice and bruised. “Have fun with her, Gabe. Oh, wait you won’t; because she doesn’t put out. She’s rigid and stale.”
I think that pissed Gabe off, because the next thing I knew, he was on top of Kale and smashing in his face. Blood was coming out of his nose, mouth, and eyes. I went to grab Gabe’s hand to make him stop before he killed his cousin, but then a dagger came flying by and stuck Gabe right in the leg. I sc
reamed and he cried out in pain. I knew I had better not remove it, because he was bleeding heavily. I grabbed him and dragged him up the steps. He was heavy and he was making me pull all of the muscles in my back. But I finally found a room and I shut the door behind us. I dragged him to the chair and helped him into it. I looked around to find an herb or something to help stop the bleeding, but there was nothing in the room but the chair Gabe occupied. How odd.
I looked behind me to see there were curtains hanging on the wall, which I thought was weird. I walked over, pulled the draw cords, and opened them up. There was a window that looked into another room. I looked through the window to see a table in the middle of the room. It was covered in blood and someone was lying on it. Next to the table, I saw a witch’s alter, and I knew this was where Amelia did her voodoo shit. Then movement caught my eye and I saw Dean, Cordelia, and Anna. Why was Anna there with them; was she helping them? Was that what Arabella was trying to say? I needed to get to them. I tried banging on the window to get their attention, but they couldn’t hear me. The glass was like a one-way mirror; like the ones they have at police stations. I walked to Gabe to explain to him what I was going to do.
“Gabe, Dean is right next door with Cordelia. I’m going to go get them and come back, okay?”
I started to walk away and he grabbed my hand. “Kay, I don’t think I’m going to make it. I’m losing too much blood. So if I don’t, I want you to know I am falling in love with you.”
I closed my eyes and tried to hold back my tears. “Gabe, please don’t talk like that.” I leaned down and pressed my lips against his and that was when the tears started. “I will be right back.”
I slowly opened the door to see if anyone was coming. I shut the door behind me, and sank to the floor and sobbed. I sobbed harder than the day my parents died. I wanted this curse to end. I wanted to just run away with Gabe and be happy. I don’t know how long I was there crying when a hand touched my shoulder. I looked up into Cam’s eyes.
“Where are Bridget and Arabella?” I asked.
